The present invention relates generally to a collector assembly for positioning a collector shoe in contact with an electrified rail. More specifically, the invention relates to a collector assembly incorporating a universal mounting block and a universal support arm that can be used in a single or dual arm configuration to provide the required force to bias the collector shoe into contact with the electrified rail when the collector assembly is mounted to a mobile unit.
Electrically powered mobile units such as trains, trolleys, conveyors, cranes, hoists or the like, require considerable amounts of continuous, uninterrupted current to function properly. Overhead electrical cranes that are utilized in heavy industries, for example, are required to run over large areas in which heavy objects must be moved. In these types of operating environments, the electric crane moves along and is supported by a pair of rails. A third, electrified rail is used to provide power to the electric crane. Typically, the crane or mobile unit includes at least one collector shoe that slides along the electrified rail while maintaining contact with the rail. Each collector shoe is connected to the mobile unit by a mounting arrangement that typically includes either a single support arm or a pair of support arms. In either the single or dual arm configuration, a spring provides the required bias force to hold the collector shoe in contact with the electrified rail. Although the dual arm configuration increases the cost of the collector assembly, the dual arm configuration is better able to keep the collector shoe in a constant plane, thereby decreasing the chances that the collector shoe will come out of contact with the electrified rail.
When switching between a single arm and a dual arm configuration, the entire mounting arrangement is removed from the mobile unit and the desired mounting arrangement is then attached. Typically, in a single arm configuration, the support arm and the mounting block that provides the connection to the mobile unit have a different structure from the support arms and the mounting block used in a dual arm configuration. The differences between the single and dual arm components are dictated by the different path of movement of the arms in each type of configuration. For example, a conventional single support arm cannot be used with another identical single support arm in a dual arm configuration, since the design of the support arm used in the single arm configuration includes several bends that would cause a pair of single arms used in a dual arm configuration to contact one another, thereby limiting the range of movement of the mounting assembly.
Since the presently available single and dual arm assemblies each include different support arms and mounting blocks, two types of support arms and mounting blocks must be manufactured and maintained in inventory. The two different types of components thereby increase the manufacturing and sale price of the collector assembly. Therefore, it would be particularly desirable to develop a universal support arm and a universal mounting block each of which can be used in either a single arm configuration or a dual arm configuration in order to reduce the number of parts manufactured and stored in inventory.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a collector assembly which can be configured as either a single arm assembly or dual arm assembly without the requirements for specialized parts depending upon which configuration is selected.
It is another object of the invention to provide a universal support arm that has a specialized configuration such that the universal support arm can be used either in a single arm or a dual arm collector assembly.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a universal mounting block that supports the collector assembly regardless of whether the collector assembly is a single arm configuration, a dual arm configuration, or a single or dual arm configuration supporting either a single collector head or a pair of collector heads.
Finally, it is an object of the invention to reduce the number of components required for a collector assembly that is usable in either a single arm or a dual arm configuration.